Money Management – Credit Card Statements

No one likes bad news. Perhaps that is why so many people don’t read their credit card statements.

If you have been avoiding your credit card statements – here is something to think about:

• According to the RCMP in 2008, there was $407,729,739 of reported credit card fraud in Canada – that represented 450,322 Canadian accounts.

These are only the reported cases. Imagine how much fraud went undetected and unreported.

Do you really want to pay for some criminal’s illegal use of your credit card? No? Then check your credit card statement every month.

What Should You Check?

Once you have verified that the account details and payment transactions are correct – examine each transaction to make sure they are correct.

If you are a heavy credit card user, it can be a bit of a challenge looking at each transaction – however, it can also be an incentive to cut down on your credit card usage.

Credit Card Fraud

If you do not recognize a charge – call your credit card company for an explanation. If it is a fraudulent charge, have your credit card company reverse the charge. Report the fraud to the RCMP.

Credit card fraud can take many different forms:

• Counterfeit credit cards – where card information has been skimmed and duplicate cards are created and used. While recent improvements in credit card security is hoped to reduce this type of fraud – in 2008 it accounted for 49% of credit card fraud.


• No-card fraud – were the card was not physically used to obtain goods. This is where criminals have gotten the credit card information and then used it to purchase goods or services online or by phone. 31% of 2008 credit card fraud was this type.


• Lost or stolen credit cards – 12% of credit card fraud in 2008.


• Intercepted credit card fraud – where criminals get credit cards before they are delivered – 3% of 2008 credit card fraud.


• Criminals obtaining credit cards using stolen identities – only 3% in 2008. However, it is anticipated by the RCMP that this type of fraud will be on the increase.

Ongoing Authorizations That Need to be Cancelled

If you realize that you authorized an ongoing charge in the past that you should no longer be paying – cancel your authorization with your credit card company. Then contact the company that you have been paying to see if you can get any of your money back.

When you purchased some services on line, such as computer anti-virus programs, you may have authorized automatic annual charges. If you are not checking your credit card statements, it can be years before you realize you are paying for a product you replaced!

Know Your Credit Card Liability Policies

Check with your credit card companies to find out what their policies on credit card fraud are.

Fortunately, American Express, Master Card and Visa have “zero liability policies for unauthorized transactions” for their Canadian, bank issued credit cards. This means that these credit card holders are not held responsible for fraudulent credit card transactions. If you have one of these types of cards, you should still check with your credit card company to make certain you are covered.

Even with coverage, if you are not checking your credit card statements, you won’t know you have been the victim of fraud and you won’t be able to ask for coverage.

More

There are more reasons than fraud to check your credit card statement and we will be exploring them in a later blog. For now, remember:

It is your money – if you don’t take care of it, no one will.